What the Future and Past Hold
by WriterAtHeart2
Summary: Will is somehow transported to a school in the twentieth century! Meanwhile, a boy named Cubby is transported to the past...more specifically, Araluen. What will they encounter in their new lives? How will they get home? And most importantly, will they survive? *ON HOLD*
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I really excited about writing this story, I've had this idea for ages...anyway, this is my attempt at writing long chapters...please review! :)**

* * *

_IN THE FUTURE_

Will picked up his bow. He nocked the arrow, his eyes on the target...he pulled back, and watched as the arrow hit the center of the bull's-eye. A perfect shot. Then, he felt a tingling sensation a he felt himself being sucked in through the target...he shut his eyes...he was about to hit the arrow's fletching, but he went right through the target instead...he kept his eyes firmly shut. He had no idea what was happening...

* * *

Will hit the hard ground. He seemed to fallen out of the sky. He was in a small hallway, the ground was marble, and the walls were some kind of white brick-like substance. There were lights in the ceiling, making the dim hallway shine. Along the walls, there were wooden doors. Each had a number carved on it. Large glass windows were on Will's left and right. Will got up and brushed the dirt off his cloak. He still had his bow clutched tightly in his hand, but the arrow quiver was gone. Where in the world was he? He'd never seen a place like this before. Will knew he was nowhere near Araluen. He curiously walked to a door labeled _23 _and turned the knob.

He entered a dimly lit room, that looked just like the hallway except there were numerous desks in the room. At the front of the room there was a black board-like thing, on which an elderly man dressed in a black suit was writing on. He was writing with a tiny white thing. It looked...powdery. Will surveyed the rest of the room. Posters and drawings hung on the wall, a trash bin stood by the door, and spare writing tools, scissors, and numerous things were placed in the room. There were also younger people sitting at the desks, writing tools in their hands, scribbling on white parchment.

All eyes were on him now. The youngsters stared at him with curious eyes, their mouths open and attention completely off of their teacher.

"Erm..." Will said stupidly. "I was...um...looking for the...um...restroom..."

The teacher looked up from the black board-like thing on which he'd been writing some numbers and letters. "The restroom?" He peered over his spectacles and frowned. "It's just down the hall, turn left and you'll see it. Please knock before you enter!" The teacher returned to the board, unaware that the students were still gazing intently at Will. One of the kids shouted, "Dude! Your cloak is _epic..._where'd you get it? Is it from Abercrombie and Fitch? 'Cause I totally need one..."

The students around him grinned and nodded, gazing curiously at Will's green-gray cloak. Then one of the girls shrieked. "He's got a _bow! _He's going to kill us, run for your lives!" The girl jumped out of her seat and raced around the room, screaming "HELP! HELP! HELP!"

Will hastily put his bow out of view. He saw the teacher's disapproving glare, and shut the door quickly. Where the devil was he?

He made a dash for the restroom and hid in one of the stalls. Why were the children wearing those peculiar clothing items? Why did the teacher look at him like he was foreign? How did he get here? How was he going to get back? Where were Gilan and Halt and Alyss and everybody else? Was he the only Araluen here?

Then, remembering that there was no one to answer his questions, Will sighed. He had to get out of here. But how? Will exited the bathroom and explored the building, trying to find a small storage area. Finally, he found the Janitor's closet (of course, Will didn't know it was already used for something else) and put his bow in the corner. He took off his cloak, folded it, and put it with his bow. Then he closed the door, and headed down the hallway in which he'd appeared earlier. All of the sudden, a woman's head poked out of a door to Will's left. The woman frowned disapprovingly.

"Cubby! There you are, boy...what took you so long? All I did was send you to the office and you spent twelve minutes...What are you waiting for? Get in here! I haven't got all day!" the woman said, glaring over her pink glasses.

Will did not move. "Er...pardon me, who's Cubby?" he said slowly, turning around to see if she'd been talking to someone else.

The woman looked surprised. "Why, _you, _of course! What's gotten into you lately? Yesterday you forget where the lunchroom was, today you forget your name...WELL, GET IN HERE! ARE YOU FROZEN OR SOMETHING?" the woman shouted.

"But my name isn't Cubby, it's—" Will said, but the woman cut him off.

"OH, FOR GOD'S SAKE! JUST GET IN HERE!" the woman shouted loudly, making Will jump. Will obediently moved and entered the room.

The room was just like the other that he'd entered earlier, except there were different posters on the walls and the desks were arranged differently. Also, the kids in the room seemed older and more mature. They were all about Will's age. Most of them were staring at Will like he was paranoid. One boy smirked and whispered something to the boy next to him. They both burst out laughing.

Will uncomfortably stood there, unsure of what to do. The teacher frowned again. "You definitely have short-term memory, Cubby, I reckon you should go see a therapist..." Several kids laughed. "...you sit over _there." _She pointed to a desk at the back of the room. Will sat down, still eyeing the two laughing boys dangerously. They looked just like Bryn and Jerome from the Battleschool...he felt an urge to get up and punch them...yet the way the teacher spoke and looked at him made him feel that there would be circumstances if he did that.

Will absently began to doze off, dreaming of returning to Araluen and telling Gilan about being called the ridiculous name "Cubby"...

* * *

He jumped from his seat. A loud bell was ringing in his ears, and all the students were getting up and filing out the room. Will followed a red-haired boy out the room, and stopped. What was he supposed to do now? Will tapped the red-haired boy on the back. The boy turned. "What?" he said, looking annoyed.

"Where do we go now?" Will asked. He hoped it was lunchtime; he was starving...

The boy frowned. "No wonder the teacher thinks you're stupid, you can't even remember your schedule! You go to _gym _now, Cubby! In case you haven't got the brains to remember where that is, it's over there!" The boy pointed down the hall to large double doors. Then the boy hurried off. Will glared at the boy's back. Was everyone so rude here?

Will followed a group of people to the double-doors at the end of the hall. Will noticed that the boys who'd laughed at him earlier were in his group. The apprentice Ranger (now without his cloak, so he looked like an ordinary student) entered the gymnasium.

Will hoped things wouldn't be so bad here.


	2. Chapter 2

_IN THE FUTURE_

Everyone around him sat down in the middle of the hard, wooden gymnasium floor, so Will followed suit and looked intently at the man standing in front of him. The man was very thin, had a small mustache, and looked very bouncy and fun. He was holding a clipboard and was shouting names out.

"Aaron!" the coach shouted, peering at his clipboard. A small boy squeaked, "Here!" and the coach proceeded to the next name. The coach shouted at least twenty-four names and received at least twenty-four "here's" when he finally put his clipboard down and clapped his hands.

"All right, today we're going to have a go at archery! Can anyone explain what that is?" the coach asked briskly.

Will's sprits lifted. Archery was the only thing he was good at; maybe this class wouldn't be so bad after all...

Will's hand shot up into the air. The coach looked in Will's direction and smiled. "Yes, Cubby?" he asked. "I haven't heard from you in a long time." Will genuinely smiled back. "It's basically what we call shooting arrows with bows," he said simply.

The coach looked surprised. "Very good, Cubby! That's the best answer I've gotten from you this year!"

Will beamed. He was starting to like the coach. Then the coach gestured for the students to follow him and everyone followed him outside.

There were six peculiar targets set up on the mossy grass, three plastic bows were lying at each target, and six quivers full of arrows on the ground. The coach shouted, "Line up at one of the targets, three people at each target, now! The first person in line, take a bow!"

Will was the last in his line; he watched eagerly as the first person, who was a brown-haired girl with glasses, pick up a plastic bow as though it were a poisonous snake. The coach picked up his own longbow and showed the rest of the class how to hold it properly. The first people in line all tried to copy the position. The coach checked everyone's hand position to make sure they were correct, then proceeded to the next step.

"Now, pick one arrow from the quiver...CAREFUL, ADAM! Don't point it at Jack, you could've hurt him...now nock the arrow like this...and now put your bow upright, pull with your three fingers...and _release!" _

Three arrows were shot, one of them hit the target but the others hit the floor. The one that had hit the target was nowhere near the bull's-eye, and all the rest of the people hadn't shot at all. They either hadn't been able to, or were confused on how to.

The coach didn't look disappointed at all. He looked very gleeful. "Very good, everyone! Archery isn't very easy, is it? Now, everyone, bows down, go get your arrows!"

The people who had shot arrows put their bows down and went to retrieve their arrows. Will was very eager for his chance. Then the second people in line picked up their bows and attempted to shoot their arrows...and then it was Will's turn. Will keenly picked up the plastic bow. He didn't even listen to the coach's instructions on how to nock the arrow and whatnot; Will was already pulling back and preparing to release...

Will fired. The arrow hit with a _THUD _on the target, right in the center of the bull's-eye. The coach looked up, apparently surprised. His gaze went to the arrow fired by Will, and he yelped happily. "Yes, yes, Cubby! Very good job! Do it again!"

So Will picked up another arrow, nocked it, and fired. The arrow hit the bull's-eye again. Everyone cheered. The coach looked very happy. "Wonderful, Cubby! You're the very first student who's done two bull's-eyes in a row!"

Will beamed. This gym class was fun.

Everyone had some more turns at shooting arrows (all the arrows Will shot hit the target, all of them on or near the bull's-eye). Then, the bell rang again. Will looked at the quiver of arrows in front of him, and he got an idea. What if he took the arrows? Then he could use his bow that was hidden inside the Janitor's closet and he could sneak outside and practice shooting anytime he wanted. Will glanced at the coach. He was talking to the boy Adam, so Will picked up the quiver of arrows and quickly headed for the exit. Before he had taken two paces, though, a dark-haired boy behind him spoke. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the boy advised. "There are security cameras."

"Se-cure-it-ee ca-mer-ahs?" Will said blankly.

The boy nodded and pointed to a security camera that happened to be nearby. Will looked curiously at the black camera, and stared into the lens. He made a funny face at the camera, made weird noises, and jumped up and down. The camera was recording every movement. Will finally stopped. "What does a seturitah-whatever-it-is do?" asked Will.

"It prevents people from stealing stuff from the school," the boy said. "Like a few moments ago, when you were making those faces at the camera, it was recording it."

Will frowned. "Do people watch the camera things?" he asked, looking at the security camera with interest.

The boy nodded. "Oh, yes. I bet someone just watched you make those silly faces, you know. Probably the principal. So I advise you to put those arrows back, and move on with your next class." The boy hurried off, but Will caught up to him. "Er...what's my next class?"

The boy turned. "Reading class is next. We have a spelling test, remember?" The boy gestured for Will to follow him.

Will nodded. "Right, hold on, let me put the arrows back." Will raced back into the gym, put the arrows back into the quiver, and then raced back outside. He followed the boy, thinking hard. Spelling test? They had a spelling test? He hoped he didn't have to spell hard words. Will nervously entered a new room, which was covered with posters saying _Dare to read _and _Spelling is telling. _Will sighed a breath of relief. There were name cards placed on the desks. Will found the desk that said "Cubby". He sat down, and stared at the items on his desk. There was a strange orange writing tool with a pink rubber thing at the top, and also a blank sheet of parchment.

Will help the writing tool up to his eyes, studied it, and decided that he was supposed to write with the pink rubbery end. He put that end to the parchment, paused, and wrote an "A". There was no mark left by the writing tool. Frustrated, Will flipped the pencil to the other end, the sharp pointy end, and wrote an "A" again. This time, a dark grey "A" was marked and Will smiled. This was an interesting writing tool.

He got an idea. Will took the pink rubbery end and traced over the "A" that he'd just written. Magically, the rubbery end had made the mark disappear! Will eagerly wrote his name at the top of the paper, and gazed at the teacher. She was short, stout, and looked very strict.

The teacher spoke in a loud, clear voice. "As you all know, there is a spelling test today. Write your name at the top of your paper." She waited a few seconds, and then continued. "The spelling test will now begin."


	3. Chapter 3

**This is Cubby's side of the story. (I do not own Ranger's Apprentice; John Flanagan does. And, as you can see, I am not John Flanagan. I do own Cubby, however.) Now you are about to enter Cubby's life...**

* * *

_IN THE PAST_

Cubby fell onto the mossy ground. He glanced around groggily. He had no idea where he was; all he'd remembered was that he'd gotten sucked in through some kind of portal and ended...here. Wherever 'here' was. He certainly wasn't at school, which is where he'd been before being sucked through the portal.

He looked around. There was a small cottage in front of him. Though Cubby thought it looked old and shabby, at least it was shelter. So he walked up to the cottage, and knocked loudly on the door. A man wearing a strange cloak appeared. The man ushered Cubby inside.

"Back already, Will?" the man asked, pouring a steaming mug of coffee and offering it to Cubby.

"I...I don't know what you mean," said Cubby, eyeing the man suspiciously. He took the coffee, and took a tiny sip. It didn't taste poisoned, so he kept drinking.

The grizzled man frowned. "I meant I was surprised that you were back from your training so early," Halt said, looking annoyed. "I would have thought that obvious."

Now Cubby frowned. "Who are you?" he asked, putting the mug of coffee on the table. "And why did you call me Will?"

Halt looked surprised. "_Who am I? Why did I call you Will?"_ Halt repeated. "I called you Will because you are Will! You have the same eyes, hair, nose, mouth, and ears as Will! As for your other question, I am Halt! Have you lost your mind, Will? You've been my apprentice for more than six hundred days and you don't know what my name is?"

Cubby got up and backed away. This man, this man called _Halt_, was very dangerous. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Cubby said truthfully. "I am not your apprentice and my name is not Will!"

Halt's eyes narrowed. What was wrong with Will? "So what is your name?" said Halt coldly, sitting back down.

Cubby put a defiant look on his face. "My name is Cubby. Not Will. Cubby. And you still haven't told me who you are."

"Cubby..." Halt mused. It was an odd name. "I am a member of the Ranger Corps, currently serving King Duncan very loyally." There was an odd silence. Cubby had no idea whatsoever what Halt had just said.

"Ranger Corps? King Duncan?" Cubby said scornfully. "This is rubbish. Rubbish, I tell you..."

Halt resisted the urge to go up to this Cubby boy and tell him what was rubbish. Then, Halt noticed something that made him very surprised indeed. "So..." Halt said softly. "I see you are not my apprentice Will."

Cubby looked defiant. "Told you," he said rudely. "What made you realize that?"

"I see you are wearing very...odd clothing," Halt said, gesturing to Cubby's jeans. "Will did not wear those clothes when he went to train this morning."

Cubby frowned. "You're the one with the odd clothing! That cloak is _so _old-fashioned..."

Halt ignored that rude comment. "Where is Will?" he asked suddenly.

"Sorry?" replied Cubby.

"Where is Will?" repeated Halt. "Where is my apprentice? Where is he?" Halt asked different versions of the same question to make sure Cubby understood.

Cubby shook his head. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I really don't know. I don't even know where I am! How should I know where your apprentice is?"

Halt took a moment to process that information. So Cubby didn't know where Will was. Then Halt got a weird idea. Perhaps...perhaps Will was in Cubby's place, just like Cubby was in Will's place! It was an odd idea, but it made sense. Halt drank the rest of his coffee, stood up, and gestured for Cubby to follow him. Cubby, however, did not move. "Where are we going?" Cubby said, still not moving. "If you follow me, you will see," Halt said. Cubby reluctantly followed Halt outside and showed him to the training area.

"What are we doing?" asked Cubby nervously.

"Training to be a Ranger, of course," said Halt.

* * *

**Do you like how Cubby and Will change places? :) I think I'll write Will's side of the story next...I have interesting ideas for the spelling test...**


	4. Chapter 4

_IN THE FUTURE_

Will had his pencil poised and ready.

The teacher's eyes swept over the class, and then she continued speaking. "For those who continuously forget how the spelling test goes…" the teacher's eyes lingered on Will. Will privately rolled his eyes. Why did he, out of all the people, have to replace an idiot like Cubby?

The teacher continued, "…I shall explain the procedures. I will say the word, put it in a sentence, and then I will repeat the word. Then I will move on to the next word. Please raise your hand if you do not understand." No one raised their hand. Finally, the teacher looked over her list of words and started the spelling test.

"_Eligible. _Please make sure your writing is _eligible. Eligible,_" the teacher said slowly.

Unfortunately, Will did not know how to spell "eligible". He tapped the boy in front of him on the back and whispered, "Excuse me, how do you spell 'eligible'?"

The boy stared at Will like he was paranoid. "Why should I tell you?" he said, and then turned around.

Will frowned. He would have to guess. So he carefully and neatly printed _elijibel. _Then, he waited for the next word.

"_Marauders. _Bands of deserters became _marauders_, preying on the indigenous people. _Marauders," _said the teacher.

Again, Will had no idea how to spell this. So he tapped the boy on the back again, only to receive a furious glare. So Will guessed again. He neatly printed _meroder. _

There were twenty words in all, and Will was sure that he'd gotten at least a tenth of them correct. He checked his paper over, made sure his name was on it, and gave it to the teacher. The teacher gave it back right away. "Your name is spelled incorrectly, Cubby. I believe your name is Cubby, not Will." She thrust it back into Will's hands, obviously wanting him to correct his name. But Will didn't move.

"My name is not Cubby!" he shouted, thrusting the paper back to the teacher. "It's Will!"

The teacher's eyes narrowed. "Detention today after school, Cubby." Just then, the bell rang.

Will, who did not know what 'detention' was, left the room sulkily. Detention sounded like a punishment. He didn't deserve to be punished! As Will was heading toward the bathroom, the dark-haired boy who had told him about the security cameras caught up with him.

"My name is Matthew, by the way," the boy said. "Detention with the reading teacher is the worst; she makes you do lines. Somehow you always manage to get detention from her," Matthew said, looking sympathetic.

Will felt a rush of gratitude for Matthew. At least _someone _wasn't rude here. "What's detention?" he asked, feeling stupid.

Matthew looked taken aback. "Er…I've never known someone who's forgotten what detention is," he said with a laugh. "Well, it's a punishment given to students who misbehave. You usually have to stay with the teacher during detention and the teacher makes you do an extra homework assignment. If you get detention from the reading teacher, you're most likely going to be doing lines or writing an essay."

Will sulked even more. So he had to stay after…_school?_ He was in a school? And had to do lines or write an essay? The pride that had come from gym class vanished. This place was horrible! Detention, rude people—it all added up to a horrible day.

Matthew looked around. "The bell rang about two minutes ago, Cubby, you'd better hurry on to your next class!" Matthew hurried away, clutching his books tightly.

"Er…what's my next class?" Will called after him.

"I believe you have band next! Room 146!" Matthew answered, and then disappeared into one of the other classrooms.

Will frowned. Band? It sounded like a class that was really easy to fail in. Will quickly hurried to find Room 146. Surprisingly, it wasn't hard to find. Will opened the door, wondering what was next.


End file.
